The Pixel 4 XL.
Stephen Shankland/CNET
In May of last year, Google launched the Pixel 3A and 3A XL. It was the Pixel phones’ first foray into a more affordable price bracket — and perhaps Google’s return to the cheaper Nexus days of yore. Priced at hundreds of dollars less than its main Pixel 3 flagship counterpart, the Pixel 3A phones shaved off key features like wireless charging and water resistance. But it remained a viable alternative for Android users looking for a Pixel phone experience at a lower cost.
The strategic move worked and the Pixel 3A doubled Google’s Pixel sales by that summer. As such, we expect sequels to the Pixel 3A phones, which would presumably be called the Pixel 4A and 4A XL, to come soon. Google said it will announce a beta version of Android 11 via an online event and the company could use that presser to announce the Pixel 4A (the event was originally scheduled for June 3, but has been postponed to a later date). In addition, Google’s rivals released a number of its own midtier handsets. Within the month of April alone, Apple launched its new $399 iPhone SE, Samsung announced its next lineup of midrange Galaxy A phones and Motorola debuted its sub-$300 Moto G Power and G Stylus. Now more than ever, phone-makers are targeting people on tighter budgets, who might otherwise have just held onto their old phone for another year.
In anticipation of Google’s expected announcement of the Pixel 4A and 4A XL, we gathered the most compelling and interesting rumors about the devices. And until the launch happens, check back often as we update the roundup.
Pixel 4A price: $399 looks most probable
Last year’s Pixel 3A cost $399, £399 and AU$649; the 3A XL cost $479, £469 and AU$799. It wouldn’t be surprising if Google kept the same pricing model this year for its Pixel 4A phones. The reasons are twofold: Raising the price of a device specifically geared towards more budget-minded users would be an odd move. Second, premium phone makers seem to consider $399 a good price mark. Apple’s new iPhone SE, for example, is $399 as is Samsung’s Galaxy A51, which is the most advanced phone of its latest Galaxy A series. A mock billboard showing the $399 price posted by tech leaker Evan Blass also noted the same price.
In addition, Stephen Hall of 9to5Google tweeted that the Pixel 4A could be even cheaper, starting at $349 instead. This would make it even more competitive against the iPhone SE and would attract more budget-minded users.
Pixel 4A running Android 10, maybe Android 11?
Google usually unveils its latest mobile OS in May, during its annual developers conference known as Google I/O
. Due to COVID-19 concerns, however, the in-person event was canceled this year. Instead, the company will take the wraps off the beta version of Android 11 via an online event on June 3. Google could use the same event to announce the Pixel 4A, like it did last year for the Pixel 3A and Google I/O 2019 (more on this possible launch date below). Optimistically, the Pixel 4A could run the finalized version of Android 11 right out of the box. However, the timeline may be too short. What may happen instead is that the Pixel 4A runs Android 10 by the time it gets into users hand, but will be updated to Android 11 later on. This would make sense since last year, the Pixel 3A ran Android 9, which was publicly released in 2018, despite the third beta version of Android 10 being announced the same day as the Pixel 3A at I/O.
Pixel 4A release date: Could be June or July
With the launch of the Pixel 3A being the only reference to go on, it’s difficult to pinpoint an exact launch date for the Pixel 4A. Last year the phone debuted in May, but that month has since came and gone. (One report from German site Caschys Blog predicted the phone would launch on May 22 in Europe, which obviously ended up being untrue.)
Given that Google was going to announce Android 11 on June 3, but then postponed it, it could mean that the phone will be unveiled sometime in June. This would make sense given that tech companies usually don’t hold two notable product launches one month apart. Still others are saying it may come even later. David Ruddock of Android Police, for instance, tweeted that the phone would be delayed until July.
The Pixel 4A may have a hole-punch notch and cost $399.
Evan Blass
Pixel 4A design: Maybe hole-punch camera, headphone jack
There’s no way of knowing what the Pixel 4A officially looks like at this point, but rendered images of the device from Indian tech website 91Mobiles show the phone with a hole-punch camera and a headphone jack. The hole-punch camera would be consistent with the billboard mockups mentioned earlier, and is a trendy design that is featured on recent Galaxy S20 and OnePlus 8 phones. Supposed leaked images of Google’s Pixel 4A’s wallpaper, reported by XDA Developers and the YouTube channel TecnoLike Plus, also suggest a hole-punch camera. Keeping the headphone jack wouldn’t be too unexpected since the Pixel 3A also has one. But because more and more phones don’t have the audio port, including the Pixel 4, Google could go either way with keeping it or leaving it off on the Pixel 4A.
Will the Pixel 4A also have that big Pixel 4 camera bump?
Sarah Tew/CNET
Pixel 4A camera: May have same dual cameras as Pixel 4
One of the most compelling things about the Pixel 3A was that it had the same excellent camera as the Pixel 3, and it would make sense for Google to pack the Pixel 4A with the same camera hardware as the Pixel 4. That may include two rear cameras (a 12.2-megapixel standard camera and a 16-megapixel telephoto lens) as well as an 8-megapixel front-facing camera. But don’t be too surprised if Google decides to mix it up by not copying itself exactly. Last year, it didn’t carry over the second wide-angle front-facing camera that was on the Pixel 3 to the Pixel 3A, and it debuted a time-lapse video mode on the Pixel 3A that was new to Pixel phones.
Pixel 4A and 5G connectivity?
When Google launched the Pixel 4 and 4 XL in October 2019, the company did not unveil any 5G plans and hasn’t revealed any 5G plans since. It’d be surprising if the company decided that the midlevel Pixel 4A would be its first 5G phone; one would think it would save a marquee feature for the upcoming Pixel 5 flagship (expected in October). But thanks to Qualcomm’s more affordable Snapdragon 765 chipset, cheaper phones can have 5G connectivity and inexpensive 5G phones are already available, like the Coolpad Legacy 5G and the TCL 10 5G, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility.
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